Olympics TV Ratings Trends
Chinese viewers have continued to tune in to the Olympics in record numbers since the opening ceremony attracted record numbers of viewers in China and abroad. Even the start of the working week failed to put a dent in viewer numbers as 86% of all households continued to watch the Games on August 11, the first week day after the start of the Games.
Unsurprisingly, the events where China had strong gold medal hopes attracted the most viewers. Hence, volleyball, weightlifting, table tennis, diving and gymnastics events all attracted high ratings throughout the week.
The Chinese women's volleyball team managed to secure the highest ratings of the week. Every time the team has played, they have attracted enough viewers to top the ratings list by a 2% to 3% margin. The China vs Poland match on August 11 received a rating of 8.72%, almost 3% higher than the women's tennis singles in second place. The China vs Cuba match on August 13 received a rating of 7.53%, outranking the women's gymnastics team finals by more than 3%. The US vs China match on August 15 also top the rankings with a rating of 5.05%, even though China was defeated by the US.
The strong ratings performance contrasts with the physical attendance at many events with wide complaints about the lack of secondary ticketing options and the failure of corporate sponsors to effectively distribute their generous allocations.
The ratings between popular events have been split much more evenly on the nights when the women's volleyball team didn't play. The China vs Argentina women's football match on August 12 attracted 5.44% of viewers, placing it just ahead of the 5.41% TV rating recorded by the men’s weightlifting competition.
Where will the viewers go as the Games enter the second week? Both the basketball and the table tennis are strong contenders, as both events have already received high ratings. Check out the daily lists of the top ten rated Olympic programs in the Statistics section and draw your own conclusions on where the Chinese viewers are heading.